


In the Dark of Winter There Came a Light

by SassySloth



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-12 16:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15999314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassySloth/pseuds/SassySloth
Summary: Strange things have been happening in the Forbidden Forest and the unicorns are thought to be in danger. Albus Dumbledore decides to invite an assertor from the Ministry of Magical Beasts & Environments to help. If she is also able to help bring some light to his loyal friend, it will be an added bonus.





	1. Chapter 1

Giovanna Vitoria was not a punctual witch, as were most witches and wizards from her region. As such, Albus sat comfortably at his desk, smiling softly at his two trustworthy friends Minerva Mcgonagall and Severus Snape, who were waiting, rather impatiently, for their guest. 

“This is very unprofessional Albus, are you sure she can be trusted with this if she cannot even be trusted to show up on time?” Minerva said through pursed lips as Snape nodded silently in agreement. A terrible thing the killing of unicorns and they perhaps hoped to avoid the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Magic by unofficially involving the Ministry of Magical Environments & Beasts. Perhaps, Snape thought to himself, Albus was making poor decisions in whom to turn to.

As Albus moved to respond, green flames shot up from his fireplace and through came a young woman. She was covered in a thick layer of sweat and breathing quite heavily, if anyone noticed the thin specks of blood on her clothes, no one mentioned it. 

Snape studied the woman closely. She had red hair, which matched the blood specks on her shirt, tied in a large bun on top of her head and bright emerald green eyes. She was wearing muggle clothes, a short denim overall over a sweat drenched white blouse, which showed her tan olive skin and was incredibly inappropriate attire for a witch and even more so for a work meeting in the middle of October, although he would concede that it was spring in the Amazon. 

“Albus!” The woman shouted, too loud for the liking of both Minerva and Severus, rushing toward the headmaster as he stood from his seat and enveloping him in a tight hug. “So sorry about being late, I was going back home when I saw poachers going after a jaguar and her cub.” 

“It’s quite alright my dear, duty always comes first.” Albus smiled as he let go of the girl and turned to the other two in his office. “This is my goddaughter Assertor Giovanna Matos, her father is the head of the Ministry of Magical Environments and Beasts, Gia this is Professor Minerva McGonagall and Professor Severus Snape.” 

“Lovely to meet you dear”

“A pleasure Assertor Matos.” 

“Likewise to you both,” Gia responded with a smile. Sitting down at the chair that Albus charmed for her and turning to the older man. “Now Albus, my father said you were having some problems in the Forbidden Forest, is this what you wanted to meet about?”

“Yes Gia, there has been reports of disappearance of unicorns in the forbidden forest...” Albus’s kind eyes turned serious as he relayed all the information known to them. As Gia listened, her face showed very little emotion as she memorised every detail said. It was only once Albus had finished that she spoke. “Has the Ministry been informed?”

“The headmaster would prefer if your father was the one that oversaw.” The deep baritone from the man beside her drew her attention. Had this been any other time, a meeting where there was not a discussion about the lives of precious beings, Gia would have probably found herself drowning in the deep black pools that met her eyes. Alas, she was her father’s daughter and likewise had a single track mind when it came to beasts. 

“I would be glad to help.” Gia smiled brightly. “Fortunately the Ministry does not need to be involved at this stage, we have recently been granted full jurisdiction on anything relating to magical beasts and magical environments. Give me a couple of hours to prepare, there are somethings I need to care for. As for the issue here, I think an initial patrol of the grounds leading to the Forbidden Forest will be best. Once that has been cleared, I will venture inside and check if any other creatures had been disturbed or killed. With a fragile ecosystem such as this it will be impossible that the attacks only affected unicorns.” 

“Very good, I think it will be good if Severus would join you in your patrols, he knows the school grounds very well.” Gia could have sworn she saw a hint of mischief in the eyes of her godfather, but could not remember a time where the old man was not plotting something. “I will also inform Hagrid, our gamekeeper, as you will most likely require his help inside the forest.” 

Curious emerald eyes looked into deep black ones.

“I think that would be lovely.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was a mere day after meeting Albus and the two professors that Gia found herself standing in her godfather’s office with a large bag at the foot of the chair she sat on, her father (and boss) having settled her affairs suspiciously quick. Albus was waiting for Professor Snape to arrive so that they could discuss what the patrol plans would be like and in the meantime they spoke of her family. According to him, he had already spoken to the man and he agreed to accompany Gia on the patrols of the grounds as to not raise suspicion from others in the school. 

“Iara is replacing me for now, it is her first official assignment and she is very excited.” Gia smiled into her cup of coffee. “But you know that my brother is clawing up the walls with worry.” 

“She is a lot like you, he has the right to worry.” Albus eyes crinkled with a hidden smile letting Gia know that it was in jest. 

“I will have you know that I am the best damn assertor I know!” Gia feigned annoyance, holding her hand to her chest as if outraged. “At least I’m not 500 years old.”

This was how Snape found the two in the headmasters office, both smiling and giggling as they threw mild insults at one another. Gia was still wearing muggle clothes, jeans and a knitted sweater that fell off her shoulders; Snape knew that witches and wizards in the Americas preferred muggle fashion to that of the wizarding fashion of Europe and Asia, but it did not make it any better.

Unlike the last time, in which her hair resembled a bloody birds nest, Gia’s hair was down and one could see that it reached well down to her waist in soft curls of that unnatural red that bounced and swung with each movement of the woman. 

“Ah, Severus, good morning!” The headmaster stood as he noticed the man standing at his archway. “Please sit, Giovanna has already come up with patrol schedule for the both of you.” 

“Well,” Gia let go of her coffee cup and allowed it to float next to her as she turned in her seat to face Professor Snape. “I realise that you are a very busy man with many responsibility, so I thought it best that you accompany me when I am doing my rounds on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest; those would be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If it’s alright with you I would like to get down there tonight to place some wards to warn me if anyone enters them.” 

“That seems acceptable, I will let you know when I am available to do so.” Snape nodded to signal Gia to continue. 

“Perfect!” Gia smiled brightly at the man, slightly bouncing in her seat, her curls bouncing with her. “On the other days I plan to patrol inside the forest, which I don’t believe I’ll need your assistance...I can see much better than most in the dark.“

Snape could have sworn he saw the woman’s eyes flash, but it was too quick to be certain.

“If that is all headmaster, I will head to the Great Hall before the students arrive for breakfast.” Snape stood from his seat and brush down his clothes, looking straight at Albus. 

“Ah, of course Severus.” Albus replied as he stayed seated. “Could you please show Giovanna to the Great Hall I would like to introduce her to the students, but I must deal with some private school matters before I head down.” 

“Of course headmaster, Ms Matos, if you would follow me.” Snape barely waited for Gia to stand up and pick up her bad before he began heading down the winding staircase out of Albus’s office. 

As Gia silently followed the man just a few steps in front of her she took the opportunity to study the man. As her father had always told her, a beings body language can tell you many things about them. Snape was slightly taller than her, only by a couple of centimeters, but his wide tense shoulders is what caught her attention. It was the shoulders of someone who carried guilt and shame, Gia had some personal experience with that one. She could also tell from his greasy hair that fell limply to his shoulders that he spent way too long brewing potions. 

“May I help you Assertor Matos?” Snape snarled as he came to a complete stop and Gia figured that she had been studying the man too closely..

“I’m trying to figure out why you are so tense.” Gia stated rather matter of factly causing a slight falter in the man’s angry face. She stared up at him and for a second she felt a slight tickle on the back of mind. 

Gia turned and began walking away towards what she assumed was the Great Hall, where she saw other members of staff entering. “You will find Professor, that you will not need legilimens to find out what I am thinking.” 

\-----//-----

Gia sat in between Snape and another professor who wore a turban and finicked around way too much for her liking. Her bag sat beside her chair on the side of this other professor who kept glancing at it every time there was the slightest movement. As she munched on her buttered toast and sipped her coffee, Albus stood at the podium as he welcomed back students for their first full day of schooling back from the winter holidays. 

“You may have noticed a new face sat between Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell; Assertor Matos is from the Ministry of Magical Environments & Beasts and is undertaking a research project within the Forbidden Forest as such, any staff member seeking entrance to the forest must first go through her. I am sure all will make her feel welcome here for the duration of her stay. Speaking of the Forbidden Forest, I will once again remind you that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students.”

Albus continued to speak on several other updates for the students as Gia smiled pleasantly at the students who met her gaze. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Quirrel lean down towards her side and she feigned an attempt to stop the man from opening her bag. 

When he screamed and passed out in his porridge, Gia had to fight her hardest to not laugh as she quickly shoved some of the bags contents that had slithered out back inside before zipping it up as Quirrell stirred back up, jumping back from her bag and promptly leaving the Great Hall. She looked up to see several staff members and students staring at her.

“Let this be a lesson in respecting others privacy.” Gia spoke loudly, a slight harshness to her voice as she looked at everyone, her gaze ending on Snape next to her.

Moments later, when other members of staff finished their breakfast and left to prepare for their first classes of the day, Snape stood up. “If you would like to accompany me Assertor Matos, I will lead you to your quarters before my first class this morning.” 

Their walk was mostly silent as they headed down towards the dungeons. Gia was already aware that would be where her godfather had placed her, it was apparently the most secure place in the castle with only Snape as the only staff member who had any business being there and ward easily prevented students from entering places they should not be. Snape, again, walked in front of her as he led her down and his back was even more stiff than before. 

“I’m sorry.” Gia blurted suddenly to the man in front of her as she took quick steps to fall in line with him. “I made you uncomfortable earlier...I have a tendency to study body language and forget that sometimes, I am doing it to humans who tend to not like it very much.” 

She could tell that the man next to her relaxed ever so slightly at her apology as they walked together.

“Perhaps, I should not have used legilimens on you, although it is rather impressive that you were able to notice it.” Although he spoke in a rather bored tone, Gia could notice the slightest trace of a smile and that in itself calmed her. She had suspected as much that Snape was not the type of person to outright apologise and that was fine, he was not the first person which Gia had encountered like that. 

A comfortable silence fell between them as they passed a classroom full of students who suddenly quieted the moment they noticed their professor and at the end of the hall there was a lone wooden door they stopped in front of. 

“This will be your quarters Assertor Matos, after my rounds tonight I will knock for us to patrol the forest and you will be able to .” The man walked away right after that, there was, afterall, a class full of children waiting for him right up the hall. 

\-----//-----

It was just after 23:00 when Snape knocked on her door. He could feel the heat radiating from it when he did so and for a split second, before the door burst open, he thought the room may had been on fire. Instead, he found a tropical rainforest squarely hidden in the bowels of hogwarts. 

The air coming from the room was warm like a summer's day and fireflies floated around, blinking in and out of existence. The only other light source in the room was the fireplace, which seemed to be the source of the heat that filled the entire room in equal levels. An old tree sprouted in the corner of the room and its leafy branches covered the upper walls of the entire room, leaving only the door untouched. The room was so enchanting that Snape barely realised he had walked inside. From them hung various colourful tropical flowers. 

Along with snakes. There were at least twenty different snakes moving or hanging in between the tree branches. 

“I wanted to make it feel like home.” Gia spoke, proud of the work that had taken her most of the day. She had skipped lunch and had been more than thankful to the house elf that popped in with some dinner for her. One of the snakes, an emerald green boa, descended from the branches and landed itself quite comfortably on her shoulders. “This is my familiar, Mint.” 

“And the others?” Snape asked, eyeing a particularly dangerous looking viper as it made its way around the room. 

“Willing test subjects.” Gia smiled as she removed the boa from her shoulders and placed it seemed like a particularly comfortable branch for the snake. The curious look on Snape’s face made Gia further explain. “I’m studying their venoms to make an all-in-one antidote. Every snake here has different combinations of the enzymes that make up snake venom. I’m hoping that I can make a potion that will recognise which enzymes are present in the body and destroy it.” 

“That is very interesting Assertor Matos...”

“Yes, well...I first have to find a way to have all enzymes together without destroying one another. Are you ready?” Gia smiled brightly at Snape as she put on her coat. “And please, call me Gia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter is not that good, I am trying to stick to a writing scheadule so I don't fall behind. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and again, comments on how to improve are appreciated!!!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfic, so any helpful criticism is much appreciated! 
> 
> Assertor is Latin for protector or champion and I thought it a fitting title for an agent of an environmental agency. 
> 
> I plan to make this into a series with each Hogwarts year containing a couple of chapters :]


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